Amjad Wardeh, Refugees, 2012. From the series Face to Face, media on canvas

Wardeh, who still lives in Damascus, has posted pictures on Facebook but this is the first time he will be able to show his work freely. He said: 'How could it be safe to paint images of the revolution when it is dangerous even to speak the word freedom out loud in Umayad Square (in the centre of Damascus)?'

Ahmad Salma, Palestine and Syria are one, so you are now free, and free, and free, 2012

Salma, a Syrian of Palestinian origin, used the sinuous swirls of different styles of Arabic calligraphy to spell out the names of the provinces of Syria – to emphasise unity in the face of violence and rising sectarianism

Portraying the pain and suffering of the revolution was 'really not a matter of choice', Salma explained. 'I took my works out with me when I left on a smugglers’ route via Turkey with the help of activists. It wasn’t easy'